HMO licensing rules have changed!

HMO licensing has been extended as of 1 October 2018. If you rent out, or are intending to rent out an HMO to five or more people who share facilities, you will need a licence regardless of the number of storeys (floors) in your property.

House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Licence

If you rent out a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), you are likely to need a licence. Find out how to apply for this licence.

We operate a mandatory licensing scheme under the Housing Act 2004. This is a national scheme introduced on 1 April 2006. We do not have any additional or selective licensing schemes in the borough.

The act requires landlords of HMO properties to apply for a mandatory HMO licence to let their private rented accommodation, in order to ensure HMOs within the borough are of a decent standard. (New rules apply as of 1 October 2018.)

Do I need an HMO Licence?

Landlords currently need an HMO Licence if the property contains all three of the following:

the property has three storeys or more (includes basements and attics)

the property is occupied by five or more people

the property has some occupants sharing an amenity such as kitchen/bathroom

You must count all storeys in residential occupation when counting the number of floors within your HMO property. Therefore, any floors occupied by a resident landlord and/or their family, and any business premises or storage space, as well as any basements, loft conversions or attics that can be occupied, or are used in connection with the occupation of the HMO, must be included, even if they are self-contained.

Storeys means the number of floors within the HMO but also includes lower storeys that are used for non-residential purposes (such as a shop). So a two-storey HMO above a shop would be regarded as a three-storey HMO.

Occupiers includes all persons in the HMO, both adults and any children residing at the address.

Households can be a family, a couple (including same sex couples) or a single person but all unrelated adults that are not a couple, or part of a family, are treated as separate households. A group of more than two students sharing an address would be considered to be living in an HMO even if they had all signed a joint tenancy.

Please note, the tenancy agreement is not relevant in determining if the house is an HMO.

Changes to HMO licence rules

New, extended HMO licensing rules will apply from 1 October 2018 and you may be fined if you do not have a licence for your HMO.

If you let, or are intending to let an HMO to five or more people who share facilities, you will require a licence regardless of the number of storeys (floors) in the property.

You can apply for a licence now and we will process your application and issue you with a licence that starts from 1 October 2018.

If you operate without a licence after the rules change on 1 October, you will be committing an offence.

Fines for failure to license

Failing to license your HMO property is a criminal offence and we may take prosecution proceedings or impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000.

There is an additional charge of £113 for late applications. This late fee applies where a licence was required but not applied for, or where insufficient information is provided in the application.

We will routinely inspect the property and will issue a draft licence, with any works required, before issuing the licence. The licence will be issued within 90 days of a complete application being received with all the relevant information - we will write to you if we cannot meet this target.